Headmaster's profile
Dr Alec O'Connell was appointed as the 7th Headmaster of Scotch College in September 2010 and in late 2020 accepted a third contract to remain as Headmaster.
Before taking on the role of Headmaster at Scotch College, Dr O'Connell was the Assistant Director at the Catholic Education Office of WA where he held the portfolio of People and Organisational Services and also worked in Capital Planning and Development. He graduated as a teacher in 1982 and since graduating has worked across kindergarten to tertiary, including holding a variety of both teaching and administrative positions.
He was the foundation Head and CEO of Trinity at the University of Western Australia and held the positions of the Executive Director, Vice Chancellery and Executive of Academic and Student Services at The University of Notre Dame Australia. He was the WA Chairperson and a member of the National Board of the Australian College of Educators.
He is a Fellow of the Australian College of Educators, the Australian Institute of Management and the National Association of University Colleges and Halls, and a Life Member of Trinity Residential College at the University of Western Australia.
Dr O'Connell has a Doctor of Business Administration from the University of Western Australia where he investigated the concept of values congruence and its effect on organisational commitment. He also holds a Diploma of Teaching, Bachelor and Master of Education, Graduate Diploma of Language Studies and Diploma Royal Society of Arts London. He has provided a number of guest lectures on the topic of leadership and values and the creation of innovative learning spaces.
He is currently Chair of Telethon Speech & Hearing, Chair of the Board of Directors of the Association of Independent Schools in WA and a Director of the Independent Schools of Australia. He is a Director of the Perth Symphony Orchestra Board, a member of the UWA Business School Ambassadorial Committee. He currently chairs the External Advisory Board of the School of Health Sciences at the University of Notre Dame.
Dr O'Connell is married to Janny and has a daughter Abbey and son Grady. He and his family are well known to the local community.
